If the
latest news about Google's Android 3.0 "Honeycomb" OS is accurate, it
might render Android tablets currently on the market -- like Samsung's Galaxy
Tab -- obsolete.

PCMag is
reporting that the tablet-centric mobile OS may require baseline specs
to run properly. Of these, at least a dual-core ARM Cortex A9 processor is
required, along with a 1280 x 720 minimum screen resolution.

The
source of the information is Bobby Cha, managing director of Korean
consumer electronics firm Enspert. His company is currently developing devices
both for Froyo/Gingerbread and Honeycomb, because it appears that Google is
following two "parallel software paths for tablets." Devices equipped
with Cortex A8 processors with lower resolutions, like the Galaxy Tab, will
continue to run Froyo/Gingerbread, while devices that meet the newer hardware
specs will run Honeycomb.

Cha also
confirmed that Honeycomb tablets would not require a 10-inch screen, and that
there would be 7-inch tablets running the new OS.

But while
Honeycomb would be exclusive to high-end tablets at first, that doesn't mean it
won't find its way down the ladder as hardware prices drop.

"You're
going to see price erosion on many of the components in tablets right
now," Cha told PCMag. "Folks like Samsung, the industry
heavyweights, are going to add pressure to the component guys to lower their
costs. A tablet is still kind of an expensive toy."

Cha also
noted that Honeycomb would be ready for manufacturers "towards the end of
January."

"We can't expect users to use common sense. That would eliminate the need for all sorts of legislation, committees, oversight and lawyers." -- Christopher Jennings